Irish pregnancy counsellors claim ‘abortions cause cancer’

Doctors and politicians alike have condemned reported claims by a pregnancy counselling service abortions cause cancer.

An undercover investigation by the Irish edition of The Times found women were being misinformed they were at greater risk of breast cancer if they terminated their pregnancy.

A counsellor at the Dublin-based centre also allegedly said women who went through with an abortion were more likely to abuse any children they gave birth to at a later date either due to neglect or over-protection.

Dr Peter Boylan, head of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in Ireland, branded the counsellors assertions about the risk of breast cancer and future abuse to children “outrageous”.

He told the Irish edition of The Times: “That is outrageous.”

‘Not true’

“That is just not true at all.

“That would mean that any woman who experienced a stillbirth or whose baby died in the womb would be at an increased risk of breast cancer too.

He said the majority of women experience no complications as a result of having an abortion and there was no evidence they would go on to abuse children.

Posing as a patient seeking advice about an abortion, The Times undercover reporter attended The Women’s Centre on Berkeley Street in Dublin.

The centre is said to offer impartial advice for women wanting to travel to the UK for an abortion.

But The Times claims it has direct links to a Catholic anti-abortion group called the Good Counsel Network, which has compared abortion to terrorism.

Undercover operation

The counsellor recorded in the undercover operation is reported to have said the first side-effct of terminating a pregnancy was death and was shown pictures of aborted foetuses at eight and 20 weeks.

Now Ireland’s Health minister Simon Harris has called for an investigation into the service and said he weould consider introducing regulatory measure for pregnancy counselling services.

He said: “I actually feel a bit sickened from what I’ve read this morning.

“I’ve asked my officials for an urgent update on this situation and to present me with policy options.”

A spokesman for the Women’s Centre declined to comment when approached by The Times.

iNews

https://inews.co.uk

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